The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) has been engaged in a long-standing legal battle, demanding 53.3 billion won in damages from tobacco companies for medical expenses incurred by patients with lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases. This legal struggle, which began in April 2014, has now entered its final stages with the conclusion of the appellate trial’s final arguments. The court has decided to schedule the verdict announcement for a later date.
In the appellate trial held by the Seoul High Court on the 22nd, NHIS argued against tobacco companies KT&G, Philip Morris Korea, and BAT Korea, with NHIS Chairman and respiratory specialist, Jeong Gi-seok, presenting evidence linking smoking to lung cancer. NHIS sought to refute the tobacco companies’ argument that other factors besides smoking could have caused the diseases recognized in the initial ruling.
The first trial had concluded that a causal relationship between smoking and cancer requires proof that other risk factors, such as family history and lifestyle, are not the cause. Jeong presented opinions from medical professionals and organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), to support NHIS’s claims. He also highlighted cases where individuals with no other risk factors contracted lung or laryngeal cancer, asserting that these cases demonstrate the exclusive link to smoking.
The tobacco companies’ legal representatives challenged the objectivity and evidentiary value of the NHIS submissions, indicating they seemed more like opinions from NHIS-affiliated doctors rather than peer-reviewed scientific studies. They also expressed doubt about the validity of the documents from WHO due to timing and verification issues.
The first court had dismissed NHIS’s claims in November 2020, ruling in favor of the tobacco companies. The court stated that NHIS is not a direct victim and thus cannot claim damages, and there was no evidence that tobacco companies concealed or downplayed the addictiveness of their products. It also found no defects in the manufacturing and sale of tobacco, noting sufficient health warnings on smoking hazards exist.
This lawsuit is the first attempt by NHIS to hold tobacco companies socially accountable. NHIS claimed 53.3 billion won for costs related to 3,465 patients diagnosed with lung and laryngeal cancer after prolonged smoking. NHIS argued that the tobacco companies concealed the dangers and addictiveness of smoking and did not adopt designs to reduce risks, misleading consumers with terms like “low nicotine” and “low tar” to imply lesser harm.
Following the initial judgment, NHIS immediately appealed, and the appellate court has been examining multiple issues, including product liability, the causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer, NHIS’s right to claim, and the damages amount.